My Friends Over You
by The Original Marisa
Summary: Updated Monday the 19th! Chapter 9 is in here! When a backup copy of Rockman is corrupted by a virus, A new Navi is born... named Plague. But the link between Netto and Rockman causes problems Plague is now linked to Netto as well...!
1. And Now, for Something Completely Differ...

**My Friends Over You**   
_(aka NOT Another Colaborative Fanfic!)_

By Marisa and Aria 

**Authors' Notes **

(Aria): Um... This fic is great! Read it! Read it! Or I'll poke your eyeballs out with red hot needles! 

**(Marisa)**: She will, too! You'd better read it! 

* * *

Chapter 1: And Now, for Something Completely Different

"A backup copy of me?" 

"Yes indeed, Rockman." Netto's father, Dr. Hikari, answered. "Should you be seriously hurt, I'd want to be able to save you before you and Netto...well, died." His tone changed from informative to sad on the last word. 

Netto, in attempt to cheer the moment, added, "No worries, Dad! Rockman and I can take on anyone!" He grinned. "We're a team, right Rockman?" 

Rockman nodded agreement. "Of course!" 

Dr. Hikari smiled as he opened the files that held the backup copy of Rockman, making sure everything was in order. His eyes widened as he read the status report. 

"Dad?" Netto noticed his father's expression. "What's wrong?" 

"Rockman," Dr. Hikari said in a worried tone, "Your backup copy's been corrupted by a virus...something named Plague." 

Gasping in surprise, Rockman asked, "So what's going to happen? You can save the files, right?" 

"No, that's not what I'm worried about." Hikari stated, "You're still alive, so I can save the files off of you. The thing that surprises me is...well, it's not acting like a normal virus would." 

"So...what's it doing?" Netto asked. 

"It looks like the virus is using the files to turn itself into a navi." 

"How? How is that possible?" Rockman blinked, shocked... no normal virus should be able to do such a thing. Viruses were meant to destroy, or at the most, perform a few simple operations... not the complicated work of reformatting a Navi. 

"I don't know, Rockman." Dr. Hikari frowned, working at the consol... and shook his head, drawing his hands away. "It's gone too far. We can only let it finish... or delete it now." 

Netto blinked, rubbing his head. He felt... odd... warm, and tingling. He blinked at his arms, as a few red bumps suddenly broke out.... they reminded him a little of the last time he encountered poison ivy. And they itched the same, too... he frowned, scratching at them. 

"Dad?" Netto called nervously, "Dad, I'm breaking out in hives, or something..." 

"Hm?" Dr. Hikari looked over at his son, and gasped in shock. "Goodness, Netto, you were just fine a second ago!" 

"I feel sick..." Netto added. He was dizzy. Confused. His head was pounding. It soon pounded onto the floor as he collapsed. 

"Netto!" 

"Netto-kun!" Rockman exclaimed. "Dr. Hikari...something's really wrong.." 

"I can see that, Rockman!" 

"No! It's not just that..." Rockman looked at his hands and arms, seeing nothing there. "Dr. Hikari, Netto's suddenly in horrible shape, and _I feel fine!"_

Dr. Hikari blinked... then suddenly looked at the monitor. It still showed the corrupted backup files... "Of course! The new Navi has the same DNA link to Netto..." He studied the readouts for a moment. "Thankfully, much weaker, or it would be worse. But we still need to get Netto down to the nurse..." He quickly knelt down, lifting up his son. He was hot, with a fever... "He should be alright, Rockman." At the moment, it didn't seem life threatening. Rockman watched worriedly, though, as Dr. Hikari carried them down to the nurse... 

* * *

Awareness came in fits and spurts. Sometimes, he knew he existed, and almost who he was... at other times, he was nothing more than a void, a thing that existed without thought or reason. 

But those moments were becoming fewer. He slowly stirred, opening his eyes to see the inside of a blue stasis tube... 

_Where am I? Why am I here?_

He reached out to touch the tube, before he was dragged back into the chaos that was his activation... 

The image of someone's face suddenly appeared in his thoughts.. 

Young boy. Eleven or so. Brown hair. Brown eyes. _Netto-kun._

He knew who the boy was. Why? Had they met before? 

Scattered memories...were these his memories? Whose were they? He couldn't remember gaining these memories; they were just...there. 

_...ockman...partner to netto hi...ari...eep him happ...y..._

The files were scrambled. He was confused. 

But for some reason, he was alive. 

Being alive felt strange. He reached up again, trailing his fingers down the hard, cold inside of his stasis tube without opening his eyes. It was strange, but... pleasant. 

He slowly opened his eyes again, and a need, a desire came to him. 

_I want out._

The tube was confining, stifling. He started searching it for a way to open it from the inside... but could find nothing. 

_How do I...?_

He suddenly lashed out with a fist, and was rewarded by a spiderweb of cracks. And a pleasure. Breaking things felt right... like something he was meant to do... 

* * *

"Dad...?" Netto's eyes opened. He was in a bed? When did he get there? 

"Netto!" Dr. Hikari exclaimed. "Netto, are you all right?" 

"I..." He blinked. "I'm fine." He sat up and rubbed his head, looked at his arms, and shrugged. "I guess it went away." 

"Are you sure you're all right?" Dr. Hikari asked worriedly. 

"I already said I was fine, dad!" Netto snapped. "How long does it take for a scientist to figure that out?" 

Dr. Hikari was a bit shocked at first, but it soon changed to anger. "What do you think you're doing, speaking to me in that tone? I'm your father, and I want to know if you're all right!" 

"Well I am." snorted Netto. He suddenly blinked in surprise. "Oh, god, what was that?!" He put a hand to his forehead. "Dad...I...I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." 

"It's probably the strain, Netto-kun." Rockman piped up, trying to keep the peace. "You had a very high fever." 

"Yeah..." Netto rubbed his forehead. He did feel tired... Rockman's voice seemed to grate on his nerves, for some reason. He frowned, as a thought suddenly occured to him. "Dad, what happened to that new Navi?" 

"I don't know, Netto. I was a bit more concerned with you." Dr. Hikari frowned, though, as he thought about it... "We'd better go see." Being inside the system already, the virus corrupted Navi could do a lot of damage, if it chose. 

* * *

Right now, it wasn't choosing too. Or at least, not precisely. 

"...The Evil Overlord List?" The new Navi grinned. "How evil and cool!" 

Just before he would have accessed it, though, a new Navi appeared. This one blue... he tilted his head to one side. He couldn't see himself, and didn't know he was looking at an almost mirror image of himself... 

"He looks like me!" Rockman exclaimed. "Except his color scheme is a bit different.." 

"I do?" The new navi inquired, looking down at himself. He couldn't see his face. 

There was a bit of silence as the new Navi inspected his hands, arms, body, legs; anything of his that was in his line of vision. 

"I'm Rockman." The blue navi said finally. 

The new navi's face held a shocked expression. "You are?" He had, for a bit, begun to think that he was Rockman...at least, that's what the memories were telling him. 

"I'm-" 

_Plague._

"-Plague." He wondered where that thought came from. 

Rockman blinked. He remembered Dr. Hikari saying... "Like the virus that infected you?" 

"I was infected by a virus?" The new Navi tilted his head to one side, considering that. "...I see. Is that why I'm active?" Something, some part of the memories and programming, told him he was a backup... not to be activated unless Rockman was deleted. 

"Yes." Rockman hesitated, then offered. "Why don't you come with me? I'll show you how to access the main screen, so you can talk to Dr. Hikari and Netto-kun." Plague's face lit for a moment, at the mention of Netto... then seemed to close down. 

"They won't delete me, will they?" 

"Of course not!" Rockman said, shocked. "Why would you think that?" 

"Well, you're still active, I'm virus infected..." Plague shrugged. It was logical to him. 

"Of course not." Rockman said firmly, taking Plague's hand. "Come on, just follow me... no one's going to hurt you." 

Plague nodded uncertainly, and followed... but just in case, he surrepitously spun out a bit of darkness, that formed into a Mettool. 

_I can create viruses._ He realized, for some reason excited and nervous about this. 

But he was glad he had this ability at the moment. 'Rockman' said they wouldn't delete him...but he wasn't taking chances. 

But on the way, Rockman spotted the Mettool. He immediately formed his Rockbuster and, with a single blast, destroyed it. Plague looked at him in a disgusted manner. "Why did you do that?!" He demanded, "He wasn't doing anything wrong!" 

"But it was a virus. I had to destroy it." Rockman explained. 

"I'm a virus, aren't I?" Plague spat. "Why don't you destroy me, too?!" 

"But you're not doing anything wrong." 

Plague frowned in disgust. He decided at that moment that he did not like Rockman. 

_I can't believe he doesn't see the logical problems with that._ Plague thought, disgruntled, as they continued to walk. He kept spinning out viruses... but more appropriate, easily hidden ones. Shadow viruses, mostly. They would be his helpers and bodyguards. 

When they reached the screen, though... 

"Woah!" He exclaimed, peering up into two faces... Dr. Hikari, and Netto, who was crowding close, curious and interested. "This is really cool!" His gaze rested on Netto, and he smiled. "Hi, Netto-kun!" 

It was like hearing a strange echo of Rockman... 

Netto grinned. "Hey! How'd you know my name?" 

Plague shrugged. "I'm not sure, exactly...the first thing I can remember is thinking of you, and knowing your name...kind of odd." 

"That's so cool!" Exclaimed Netto. 

"It's not that cool." Rockman murmured, feeling ignored. He looked up at Netto, "Netto-kun, this is Plague." 

"I can introduce myself, you know." Plague hissed. 

Netto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Rockman, cut him a bit of slack!" 

"Excuse me?" Rockman, "I was trying to be polite! I was just-" 

"Oh, never mind." Netto rolled his eyes. His expression changed back to excitement as he looked at Plague. "Nice to meet you!" 

Plague grinned up at him. "Nice to meet you, too! So, what are you going to do with me?" That was a question near and dear to his heart. Dr. Hikari looked at him thoughtfully, then checked his data. 

"...Hm. You seem to almost entirely like a normal Navi. At least, you can interface like one... we should be able to download you into a PET." 

"Cool!" Netto said, excited. "Can I have him, dad?" Dr. Hikari blinked, hesitating. 

"Netto, you already have Rockman." He cautioned. Netto nodded, but... 

"Yeah, but you said I have a DNA link with this one too? He has to be with me, dad. I can't let him go to someone else!" Plague listened to the conversation, interested, and grinned. He wanted to go with Netto. That felt right. 

Although, he'd have preferred to have Netto to himself... but sharing him with Rockman wouldn't be that bad. Certainly better than not being with Netto at all. 

"Oh!" Plague exclaimed suddenly, "What do you mean by DNA link?" 

"Uh...hold on, let me think of how to explain this." Netto murmured. 

"No need, I'll do it." Dr. Hikari offered. "You see, Plague, Netto once had a twin brother by the name of Saito. Unfortunately, Saito died of heart problems when they were both babies. I took Saito's DNA and created Rockman with it. It's a bit more complicated than that, but basically, Netto and Rockman are twin brothers and share a mind link. You're a copy of Rockman, so you have the mind like with Netto as well." 

"A mind link? What's that?" 

"It's sort of...well, a connection. Whatever happens to Rockman happens to Netto, and vice versa." 

Plague grinned widely. "So that makes me Netto's brother!" 

_"No it doesn't!"_ Rockman snapped. _"I'm_ Netto's twin, and that's not going to change!" 

"Rockman, please!" Netto exclaimed. "I think this is cool! We're triplets now!" 

"Triplets?" Plague's eyes widened at the idea, then he grinned as he had an idea. He suddenly grabbed Rockman, clinging to him playfully. "That makes you my brother, too! Hello, brother!" 

"AUGH! Get off!" Rockman tried futily to dislodge Plague, as Plague tried to give him a noogie. An armored helmet made that a bit difficult, though. "Hey, stop that!" Rockman found his helmet snatched off, so Plague could assault his hair directly. 

Netto laughed, grinning at the scene. It was ridiculous, and rather sweet. "Plague! Stop being a goof!" 

"Awww, do I have to?" Plague had his arms around Rockman's waist, now, and gave puppy dog eyes to the monitor before nuzzling Rockman. That was a bit unfortunate, though, considering where his face was... Plague didn't realize that, though. His memories hadn't included information on that. 

"I SAID GET OFF!" 

Instinctively, Rockman twisted around into a position where he could successfully kick Plague in the stomach, sending the red, black, and gold Navi sprawling across the 'floor' of the net. 

That was a mistake. Instantly, a group of shadowy viruses - the ones Plague had created earlier - jumped on top of Rockman, who cried out in surprise. 

"Rockman!" Netto exclaimed, feeling twangs of pain as both of his brother's were attacked; the first one in the stomach as Plague was kicked, and the second time everywhere as the viruses ganged up on Rockman. 

Plague lifted himself up on his elbows, scowling. He hadn't wanted to get knocked off, but... "HEY! Knock it off, you nuts!" 

The shadow viruses immediately pulled away, as Plague summoned them back with a mental command. And one was immediately annihilated, as Rockman aimed and fired his buster. Plague snarled, leaping to his feet. 

"And you back off, too, or I'll turn them loose on you!" He hissed angrily at his blue brother. Dr. Hikari stared at the screen, as understanding dawned on him. 

"He controls the viruses?" That was a very, very unusual talent for any Navi... and Plague seemed to have absolute control, not the approximation most settled for. The viruses waited patiently, seemingly unconcerned that one of their number had just been deleted... 

"What's wrong with you today, Rockman?!" Netto snapped. 

"What's wrong with _'me'?!"_ Rockman exclaimed, "What's wrong with _you?!"_ He pointed to Plague. "That...that _thing_ is not our brother, Netto! Can't you see it? Can't you see what he _is?!_ He's a virus! He controls them! You saw him sic them on me!" 

"I did NOT sic them on you!" Plague exclaimed. "They reacted to protect me! I spawned them!" Plague blinked, then suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth as he realized that might be even worse. 

"Spawned them? You created them?" Dr. Hikari gazed at the viruses, amazed. "That shouldn't be possible. I've never heard of a Navi doing such a thing." It was highly unusual. Plague shrugged, looking a little sullen. 

"Well, I did... going to delete me now?" He favored Rockman with a glare. "I guess this is 'doing something wrong'..." 

Rockman aimed his buster at the black, red and gold mirror of himself. "I don't have any objections." He fired at Plague. 

"Rockman, don't!" Netto shrieked, but it was too late. 

The shot hit Plague square in the chest. He cried out in pain. 

So did Netto. 

* * *

**end chapter 1**


	2. A So Called Truce

Netto lay in the hospital bed, his breaths shallow and weak. 

Across the room, a PET was on, the Navi it contained not taking his eyes off the unconcious brunette. 

"Why aren't I hurt?" Rockman asked himself. He glanced at Plague, also unconcious. 

Dr. Hikari looked at Plague, helping repair the damage to his data. "Two links might be having an odd effect... it's never been tested before." He frowned, running another test... "It might be that what happens to Plague, affects Netto, but the feedback travels no farther." That was a bit odd. Theoretically, the DNA link should have bound the three together, but it seemed to be only binding both the Navi's to Netto." 

Plague groaned, slowly opening his eyes. "Ow... that hurt..." Simultaniously, Netto began to stir and groan. Plague lifted his head... and his expression suddenly turned furious. "YOU!" He leaped to his feet in an amazingly quick move, and tackled Rockman, trying to throttle him. 

Across the room, the now-concious Netto howled with pain. 

"Netto-kun?!" Plague exclaimed. 

"Don't you get it?!" Rockman hissed, "You can't hurt me without hurting Netto-kun! I'm linked to him the same way you are!" 

Plague winced, and let go of Rockman as if he'd been burned. "I'm sorry, Netto-kun..." 

"It's... okay." Netto gasped, rubbing his neck and wincing. "Would you too STOP hurting each other, though? You're both being terrible!" Plague looked away, embarrassed, and Rockman frowned, not quite certain what to say. He didn't want Plague around... but deleting him was out of the question, now. That might kill, or at least badly harm Netto. But... 

"I am NOT being terrible, he is..." Rockman muttered, and Plague immediately took offense. 

"I'M being terrible? You shot me!" 

"Dear god, they're acting like brothers..." Dr. Hikari shook his head, amused and amazed... 

"You set your viruses on me!" 

"You were acting like a jerk!" 

_"I_ was acting like a jerk?!? Virus spawn!" 

"Blueber! Blueber!" 

"Fighting all the time..." Dr. Hikari smiled, as Netto started to giggle. It was very funny, really, especially when the insults started becoming bizarre. 

"What the hell does Blueber mean?" 

"Uh... you're a mincing ponce?" 

"What? Oh, shut up, dork!" 

Netto suddenly felt anger build up inside of him. He didn't understand why, but didn't seem to care. Every time Rockman insulted Plague, the negative emotions got stronger. 

He had no idea the DNA link between him and Plague was unique compared to the one between him and Rockman. Not only did he feel all of Plague's pain, but it caused him to feel the same emotions that the Navi did as well. 

And towards the same people, too. 

"Will you two just shut up?!" Netto screamed, "This is stupid! Especially you, Rockman! Why don't you just learn to accept that you're not my only brother anymore? Sheesh!" 

Everyone stared at Netto, startled... even Plague. He was aware that he wasn't entirely in the right, really. 

And the startment made his anger evaporate. 

"Netto-kun..." Rockman began, then stopped, bewildered and hurt. This was... very strange. Netto seemed to be almost rejecting him. "I don't appreciate being dropped for the first new toy to come along." That was how it felt, from his perspective... 

"Rockman...I..." He blinked, as the anger disappeared as suddenly as it came, "...I don't know what happened...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, I just..." He grew dizzy again, and sat down in a nearby chair. Placing a hand over his eyes to try and subdue the sudden nausea, he added, "I don't know what's wrong with me." 

Rockman was silent. He glanced over at Plague and whispered, "Netto was just fine before you came along." 

Plague glared back. "That is not my fault." He hissed back. Rockman looked mutinous for a moment, but grudgingly nodded. It wasn't Plague's fault he existed. 

"We have to get along." Rockman finally stated, looking at his red twin. Plague shifted, but nodded. 

"... Yeah. I'll try if you will." He offered, then hesitently offered Rockman his hand. They needed to have peace between them, for Netto and themselves. Otherwise, with the DNA bonds, they'd tear each other to pieces. 

"Truce?" Rockman held out a hand. 

"Truce." Plague took the offer. 

Plague smiled, watching Rockman for a moment... a strange thought was budding in his mind, one he'd have to examine more closely later. But for now... 

"Can you show me around, Rockman?" He asked politely. If they were going to be friends, he'd need to get to know Rockman's friends, too. 

Later, they were in NetCity, and Rockman was introducing Plague to some of his friends. 

"Everyone, this is Plague. Plague, this is Gutsman," Rockman introduced, 

"De Guts!" Gutsman greeted. 

"And Glyde," 

"Pleased to meet you, Plague." 

"And Roll." Rockman smiled. 

"Hello, Plague!" Roll greeted happily. 

Plague tilted his head, examining the Navies with a smile and a twinkle in his green eyes. "Hello, everyone." He guessed Rockman must have told them something about him ahead of time, or they'd be questioning him about his 'twin.' When Plague gazed at Roll, though, he was struck by something... Roll. She was familiar, somehow, and her eyes touched him in a way he'd never felt before... 

"You have beautiful eyes." He murmured, catching her hands in a light grip. 

"Eh...what?" 

"Your eyes...they remind me of something." He smiled. "I'm not sure what, but it's nice." He smiled. 

Rockman was fuming. 

Plague couldn't know he was feeling a reaction from Rockman's memories... and buried feelings. But he did notice Rockman fuming, and finally let go of Roll's hands with an embarrassed blush. "Sorry. I didn't mean..." What he didn't mean, he wasn't certain. But now Guts was hovering over Roll, trying silently to warn him off, and Plague grinned. That felt familiar, too. "Hey, would you like to practice?" He asked Guts with a charming smile. 

He was absolutely certain he could defeat the larger Navi. 

"A net battle de gutsu?" 

Outside of the PETs, Netto asked Dekao, "How about it?" 

Dekao nodded. "You're on!" 

Plague grinned. "This should be fun, my first net battle!" Then his grin turned a little sheepish. "Uh... is there any special etiquette involved?" Like a buzzer to wait for, things like that. He couldn't remember that part at all. 

"Not really." Netto noted. "Nothing that I can think of, anyway. I'll let you know if you break a rule." 

Plague nodded. "All right." 

Plague stepped back, putting a respectable distance between him and Guts, as the others fanned out to watch. They were all curious and interested to see the new Navi fight, even Rockman. Rockman couldn't help but wonder how different his fighting style would be, and how the viral infection would influence it. 

"Guts Hammer!" Gutsman started off with a powerful attack... but Plague leaped easily aside, and fired a few shots as he did. He was definitely as agile as Rockman. 

Instinct took over for Plague. "Rockbuster!" he shouted, the attack he fired looking nothing like what the Rockbuster should be. It was larger, the color swirling with red and black. It hit Gutsman square in the chest, knocking the large Navi off his feet. 

But Plague didn't give him a chance to get up. He vaulted himself over to the large Navi and fired another shot, this one bigger than the last. 

_This is so exhilarating! _Plague thought happily. 

"Plague," Rockman called, "Don't overdo it!" 

"What's wrong?" Plague asked, "Isn't the point of a Netbattle to win? Or are you jealous that I'm stronger than you?" 

"How the hell would you know? You've never seen me fight!" 

"I could take you on right now!" 

"You're fighting Gutsman right now!" 

"I'll take you both on!" 

"You're insane!" 

"You're a blueber!" 

"Not the Blueber again! That's not even a word!" 

"It is no-UUMPH!" Plague, distracted by Rockman, was hit in the back by the Navi he was battling. "Ow! That wasn't fair! Interference!" 

"That wasn't interference!" Rockman hissed. 

"Yes it was! You distracted me on purpose!" 

"I did not!" 

"Rockman," Netto snapped, _"shut up and let him fight!"_

Rockman gasped at Netto's sudden mood swing, and obliged. 

"Cannon, slot in!" Netto pushed in the chip, to send to Plague. 

Or rather, he tried to. A crackle of electricity hit his hand, as the chip popped back out. "Ow!" 

"Netto-kun, what is it?" Rockman and Plague both felt the twinge, but Rockman was the one who asked, although he was still ruffled over Netto's tone and Plague's accusations." 

"I don't know... I couldn't send him a chip! It doesn't seem to work!" He picked another chip out at random, and pressed it in. 

This one worked... sort of. An Elec Sword formed on Plague's arm, but... instead of the usual crackling yellow energy, this one was pure white, blazing with sparks of blue. 

"Yeah, cool!" Plague pointed the Elec Sword at Gutsman... and electricity sprayed from the tip. 

Not how an Elec Sword should behave. 

"Hey!" Dekao exclaimed, "You're cheating somehow!" 

"No, I'm not!" Netto shot back. "It's not my fault if Plague can make chips work better." 

"Never mind! Gutsman, Plug out! I'm sick of this!" 

"You're just mad because I was winning!" Netto snorted. 

Plague blinked in surprise as Gutsman plugged out. "Hey... that wasn't much fun." He lowered the Elec Sword, then gazed at for a moment. "Isn't this how it's supposed to look?" He couldn't know better. And tiny streaks of black were starting to shoot through the white sword, as it changed further. 

Plague smiled as he stared at the sword. "Hehe, it's so pretty!" he giggled. 

"Plague!" Rockman called, "Stop playing around! It could be dangerous!" 

"What's so dangerous about it?" Pouted the red, black and gold navi, waving it around a bit. A black lightning bolt shot from it and hit Rockman. He, in unison with Netto, screamed in agony. 

"Oh, hell!" Plague dispelled the sword with a thought, running to Rockman and catching him before he could collapse. "Geez, I'm sorry... are you okay?" Rockman shook his head, dazed and hurt. 

"Ow... I TOLD you not to..." He clung to Plague, though, using him to remain standing. Plague felt very strong, and gently wrapped his arms around Rockmans' chest... 

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect it to do that..." Plague whispered, uncertain. He really hadn't meant to hurt Rockman, and that bothered him. 

Plague held Rockman, an odd sensation coming over him...warm, and tingling. He sighed and rested his head on Rock's shoulder. 

"Plague?" 

"Mm..." 

"Plague...you can let go of me now." 

"What? Oh." He did so. 

Plague blushed lightly, wishing he didn't have to... then he shook his head. "Uh..." He chewed his lip, trying to think of something to say. "I-is there anything else here? I mean... Netto said something about Netdealers, didn't he...?" He glanced over at Glyde and Roll, trying to see what they thought of him so far. 

He was afraid he hadn't made a good impression. 


	3. A Fuzzy Moment

_Plague..._

"Huh?" Plague glanced around at the endless blackness surrounding him, "Where...am I?"

_Inside of your mind..._

"My...mind?"  

_Where I dwell..._

"Who are you?" Plague demanded, whirling.

_I am you. Your potential. I am what makes you stronger than Rockman._

"Eh..? Oh! You're that...that virus thingy!"

_Yes. Plague._

"Oh, hello! How are you?"

Plague smiled inananely, but secretly, he was quite worried. This dream was... not like anything he'd experienced before. Although his experience was quite limited. A low, scabrulous chuckle filled the air, making him shiver.

_I'm quite fine. In fact... better than fine. And how is little Rockman?_

"Rockman? He's fine."

_He's had a taste of me, but he'll have more._ Again, that sickening chuckle. Plague shifted, starting to feel alarmed.

"What do you mean?"

_How else do you think the Elec Sword attacked Rockman?_

"That was you?!"

_Yes._

"But...but why?!"

_He'll only get in the way._

"Get in the way of what?"

Your advances. He's holding you back. He wants to to be weaker, when he knows you are superior.

"...But, I don't want to be superior. I just want to be friends." 

Friends. Pah. A weak, unnecessary thing. You are still too much like Rockman... but that will change.

"What? What do you mean?"

I mean that I with your link to Hikari Netto, I will be the first virus to ever infect a human being...!

"No!"

_Oh, yes. And you have no say in the matter, my little tool._ Again, that chuckle. Plague was already growing to hate it.

"Shut up! I won't let you use me against Netto and Rockman!" Plague formed a buster, and aimed at the darkness. "Show yourself, bastard!"

If you wish to see me, you only need the aid of a mirror...

"NO! SHUT UP! I AM NOT YOU!"

You fool! I am what gives you LIFE! Without me, you'd sit idly in Dr. Hikari's computer, being released only if Rockman should die...without me, you are nothing but a replacement! A second fiddle!

"Better second fiddle than... than what you want me to be!" Plague shouted, turning, trying to find anything in the darkness. "I won't be your tool, and I won't be a virus! I'm a Navi! Do you hear me, a NAVI!"

_You are also a virus, and you will be whatever I want..._ Plague suddenly gasped, as a wave of coldness assaulted him. It seemed to radiate from the centre of his chest, making his limbs leaden and weak. He suddenly fell to his knees, unable to keep to his feet. _Enough of this. Go back to your foolish Rockman... but remember, you are mine. In all ways, you are mine... _And that chuckle filled his ears, as the world seemed to spiral away...

"No..." he whispered, "No, no no..."

"Plague?"

"No...no! Get away!"

"Plague! Wake up!"

"Wh...what?" Plague opened his eyes. It was all...a dream? He looked around. Rockman was kneeling over him, a worried look across his face. "Rockman?"

"Plague!" Rockman exclaimed, "You were having a nightmare!"

"I..." The red navi blinked, a bit dazed, "I'm cold..."

"Cold?" Rockman echoed. He hesitantly reached down to feel the navi's forehead. He gasped at the touch. "Plague...you're like ice..."

"Help..." Plague choked, shivering.

Plague gasped as Rockman slid his arms around him. Rockman's touch was so hot... he curled up against the blue Navi, resting his head against his chest.

"What was the nightmare, Plague? Are you okay?" Rockman rested a hand against Plague's icy cheek, as he shivered.

For a moment, Plague almost blurted out the whole nightmare... then thought better of it. They already had enough doubts about him, because of the virus, he didn't want to add more.

_It was probably just a dream anyway_, Plague rationalized the decision. _And I don't want Rockman to hate me..._ He shivered again, then looked up into Rockman's concerned green eyes.

"C-Can't remember..." He murmured weakly, then burrowed his face into Rockman's chest. His warmth felt so good...

"What t-time is it?" he chattered.

"Two in the morning." Rockman yawned.

"Mm.." Sighed plague. _Then it'd be okay...for me to fall asleep here...like this..._He felt so relaxed, so peaceful, for the first time since his activation. _I want to stay here forever..._

Rockman looked down at the Navi in his arms. "You okay?" He whispered.

Plague was already sound asleep.

The blue navi smiled weakly and carefully set Plague back down. "Good night." He whispered, then after a bit of thought, added, "Little brother." He smiled.


	4. Yami Yume

**Marisa's Note**: AAHH! I didn't even realize it repeated like that! Please forgive me, it should be fixed now!

---

A week or so passed. Plague watched Netto carefully, taking careful note of anything suspicious. He still didn't say anything about the dream.

But Plague didn't notice anything, and by the end of the week, he relaxed.

Well, sort of.

"Jump Rockman, jump!" He coaxed his reluctant brother and friend, grinning across a vast gulf. Several panels had been knocked out in a recent battle.

"You're crazy!" Rockman peered down, into the empty space... there was no telling where THAT led. Plague had jumped across without a thought. "I'm waiting until the panels repair themselves."

"Aw, that's wussy! C'mon Rockman." Plague laughed at him. "It's not so hard! Or are you scared?" Plague's tone turned taunting, and Rockman scowled.

He finally walked back a bit, turned... then ran towards the empty place. Rockman pushed off hard, at just the right moment...

And almost came up short. He tettered for a moment on the edge, trying frantically to find his balance... then he was jerked forward by black hands.

"Well done, Rockman!" Plague laughed, sliding his arms around Rockman. "I thought you wouldn't do it." Rockman shook his head, and started to pull away...

But Plague's grip was suddenly hard, too hard and tight. Not normal...

"Ow! Plague?" Rockman looked up at his 'brother', suddenly noticing the blank stare in his eyes. "Plague..?" 

_Plague..._

"Wha?" Glancing around, Plague found himself back in that black void...

_Plague...You haven't forgotten me, have you?_

"...No! No, it can't be!"

Then, came that god damned chuckle.

"SHUT UP! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

_I'm still here, Plague...don't you dare forget that..._

"NO!"

_Plague..._

"NO!!"

_Plague..._

"PLAGUE! What the hell are you doing?!" 

"Wh...what?" Plague blinked. He looked down and was shocked to find his own buster was pointed at his brother, who was sprawled on the ground, with a look of fear in his eyes. "Rockman!" The black and red navi gasped, "Wh...what happened?"

Plague looked up suddenly. "Netto-kun...I've got to check on him."

"What? Why?" Rockman inquired, a bit baffled.

"Because..." Plague still didn't want to tell him about the dream. "Never mind." He dashed up to the screen. "Netto-kun, are you there?"

"Huh...?" Netto yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Whoah, must've blacked out there...huh..."

"Netto-kun, this is important. Have you been having any...weird dreams?"

Netto blinked at the Pet. "Weird dreams?" He frowned, thinking about that. "Well... a little, but I can't remember them much."

"Were they of a void, and a voice...?" Plague's voice was tense as he asked. Surely not... but...

"Yeah, how did you know?" Netto blinked, surprised. What little he could remember sounded like that...

"Oh, no, it can't be..." Plague whispered, looking down. But if it was...

He didn't know what to do. He fell to his knees and started to cry.

"Netto-kun, Rockman...I'm sorry..." He whispered.

Rockman kneeled down next to Plague and wrapped his arms around him. "Hey, bro...what are you sorry about?"

There it came. That warm feeling again. Plague's sobbing ceased and he rested his head against his brother's chest. "I...remember when I had that nightmare? Well...I lied, I could remember the whole thing vividly..." He shuddered.

"Can you tell us about it?" Rockman asked. 

Plague nodded. "There was this voice...it was the virus inside of me. He said I was just his puppet, and he tried to turn me against you. But I wouldn't let him...and then..." 

"And then?" Urged the blue navi.

"He...he said he was going to use the DNA link between Netto and I to become the first virus ever to infect a human being." He buried his face in Rockman's chest and started crying harder than ever.

Rockman hesitated for a moment... then hugged Plague tighter. "Plague... it won't happen." He gently tugged on one of Plague's hair spikes, making him sniff and look up. "You and Netto-kun are stronger than that... and we'll go talk to Oniisan..." Netto frowned, though, at that.

"But... he's gone away for a convention. He won't be back for a week." Netto bit his lip. That could be a big problem... Rockman blinked, and Plague sniffed again, nuzzling his chest.

"Well... things should be alright for a week." But Rockman sounded uncertain... Plague had already pointed a buster at him. Things might get worse…

"But what if I have another blackout?" Plague questioned.

Rockman didn't know how to answer that. "Plague...Netto-kun...now that we know about it, we can watch out for each other...so I can let you know if you guys start acting weird. Netto-kun, I'll tell Roll and everbody-"

"NO!" Plague cried.

The blue navi was puzzled. "But Plague, I need them to tell Meiru and everyone...If he suddenly starts acting weird, we need someone in the real world to wake him up."

Plague shook his head. "Rockman, please, no! If everyone knew about this, they'd hate me..."

"Hey." Rockman smiled, lifting the red and black navi's chin. "You're my little brother, and it's not your fault. I promise, nobody's going to hate you for this. And if they do, and they decide to insult you, well...I'll pop 'em in the nose."

At the words 'little brother', Plague gave a hopeful grin.

It felt good, to know Rockman looked at him that way... Plague hesitated, though, then sighed.

"Okay." He nodded, resigned to it... although not thrilled. He was getting alone with with Roll and the others... letting them know this wouldn't help. But if it would keep Rockman safe...

"Rockman," Plague suddenly said impulsively. "If... everything goes wrong... don't hesitate to delete me. Okay?" Most of all, he didn't want Rockman to die because of the virus...

Rockman's eyes widened at the idea. "No! Never! Don't even talk like that!"

Plague shrugged and glanced off to the side. "You seemed pretty anxious to do that not too long ago..."

"No, Plague, I was jealous of you. You were getting all the attention...but now..." He hugged the navi tighter, "Plague, I really care about. you. I couldn't stand it if you were deleted, especially by me…"

_But I don't want the virus to kill you, either..._ Plague sighed, and shook his head, leaning against Rockman.

There was no way out of this situation, without pain...


	5. Pet Shop of Horrors

Plague, along with Netto, found himself very tense the next day. Netto had told his close circle of friends - Meiru, Enzan, Dekao, Yaito, and the rest - about the virus 'infecting' both of them.  
  


And that very day they got the chance to see it in action.

"Hmm... what do you think of this, Netto?" Meiru was looking through a small boutique store with her friend... but there was no answer. She glances around quickly. 

"Netto-kun?"  
  


But Netto was gone... Meiru frowned, and started looking for him. It didn't take long to find that he'd left the boutique.. heaving a sigh, Meiru went back into the main area 

of the mall. "Boys!" He was probably looking at tools or knives or something.  
  


When she did find Netto, though, it was at an odd place... in the pet store. He was standing in front of a wire cage, seemingly entranced by the kittens at play.  
  


"Netto! Did you have to run off like that?" Meiru complained, not noticing the odd way his hand slowly touched the wires, gripping them hard. "I was looking all over for you!"  
  


"What do you want, Meiru?" Meiru blinked at the odd tone of his voice... it sounded deeper than normal, vaguely scratchy. And as he turned his head to look at her, there was something... odd in his brown eyes.  
  


She blinked, a bit taken back. "No...I just wanted to know where you went. You should let me know when you run off, especially with that virus-thing trying to take over."   
  


Netto didn't reply. He traced his finger along the bars of the cage. "Too bad they're stuck in here, isn't it?"  
  


"Uh..." The pink haired girl wondered if he'd heard a word she said.   
  


Netto continued. "Trapped, only allowed access to a limited space...sort of like the Net."  
  


"Netto...?"  
  


"Imagine knowing your only purpose is destruction...but you just can't do it. You want to be different, more powerful...but you _can't._" He stepped back and examined the cage. "You're stuck in a box...you can destroy what's inside of it, and nothing else..."  
  


"...Netto?"  
  


The brunette turned and smiled evilly at Meiru. "Through your little friend, I have found a doorway out of that box."  
  


Meiru gasped.  
  


"You're the virus!" She backed away, frightened, as Netto laughed softly.  
  


"Yes indeed." He turned back to the kittens, watching as they tussled over a ball of string* So cute... but they'd be so much cuter in little, tiny pieces, don't you think?" He slowly carressed the cage again.  
  


"Netto!" Meiru suddenly grabbed his shoulder... she couldn't stand it, couldn't stand hearing those alien words come from her friend's mouth. But a stinging slap drove her away.  
  


"Don't touch me!" The virus snarled, but wobbled before gripping the cage again. It moved slowly, clumsily, as it walked toward Meiru... then stopped, swaying.  
  


"...Meiru?" Netto suddenly blinked, looking around. "...How did I get here?"  
  


"Netto..." She breathed, "Is it really you?"  
  


He stepped forward, the evil glint in his eyes replaced with concern. "What..what happened?" He questioned, motitioning toward the red mark on her face.  
  


Meiru shrank back. "The virus...he had control of you, for a second there..."  
  


Netto's eyes went wide. He looked closely at the red imprint of a hand on Meiru's cheek. "And...did he do this?"  
  


She nodded.  
  


"Meiru..." he whispered, "I think...I want to go home now."  
  


Nodding in agreement, she added, "Netto, check on Plague."  
  


Netto blinked, then pulled out his red PET, to try to rouse the Navi. "Plague, are you there?" For a moment, there was no response. "Plague?" Then Plague popped onto 

the screen so quickly, it was almost violent.  
  


"Netto, I'm sorry! Rockman... he's hurt... I hurt him!" Plague vanished back into the digital stream, as Netto stared.  
  


"What?!?" He pulled out Rockman's PET to check on him... not noticing, or caring, that the DNA link between them seemed to have been temporarily pre-empted by the virus. He was feeling no pain, despite Rockman's injury.  
  


He opened Rockman's program and gasped, seeing the Navi sprawled on the ground, unconcious.  
  


"Meiru!" He shrieked, "Meiru, have Roll contact everyone else, quick!"  
  


Meiru gasped, and pulled out her PET. "Right away!"  
  


Plague appeared in the screen, kneeling to hug the battered Rockman. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." He lightly touched Rockman's face, shivering.  
  


Rockman hadn't even known anything was wrong... Plague had shot him from behind. Fortunately, it had taken the virus a while to find Rockman, or he'd probably be deleted now.  
  


_I'm so sorry...  
  
_

"Rock!" Meiru gasped, as she appeared. She ran to his side and grasped his hand. "Rock, wake up!"  
  


Blues, Gutsman and Glyde soon showed up as well.   
  


"What happened?" Glyde questioned, looking at the damaged Rockman with deep concern.  
  


"The virus took control of me..." Plague gasped, "I'm so sorry, I couldn't-"  
  


"So _you_ did this?" Roll snapped.  
  


Plague's eyes widened. "No, I just-"  
  


"It's your fault de gutsu!" Gutsman added.  
  


"No! No, you've got it all wrong! I...I didn't! I couldn't-"

Blues said nothing, but aimed his buster at Plague. Plague just stared up at them, his eyes wide and moist with tears. He'd thought they understood...  
  


"Everyone, no!" Netto snapped at the PET. "It's not his fault, he didn't know what he was doing... I slapped Meiru. It took over both of us." That seemed to calm Gutsman 

slightly, although he rubbed his head.  
  


"Dekao not like that, de guts..." He knew exactly how Dekao felt about Meiru. Blues frowned, staring at Plague.  
  


"It would be safest if he were deleted." He said coldly, and Plague winced. Netto bridled.  
  


"Except for the DNA link! That would kill me too!" Then he suddenly blinked. "...Why aren't I in pain?" He should be, with Rockman hurt... Rockman stirred slowly with a groan.  
  


"Rockman!" Netto exclaimed, "Does it still hurt?!"  
  


Blinking a bit, Rockman nodded. "Yeah..but, why are you even asking? Can't you feel it?"  
  


Shaking, Netto answered tearfully, "...no."  
  


The blue navi's eyes widened. "Wh...what? What do you mean?"

Netto sniffed, rubbing his face. "The virus... it took me over, Rockman. And Plague hurt you at the same time..." He didn't know why he couldn't feel anything from 

Rockman... but it had to be connected. Plague cuddled Rockman anxiously.

"We need help... can we contact Doctor Hikari? It's only been two days..." He didn't think they would last the whole week. Not if the virus was already this agressive.

  Netto nodded. "I don't want to disturb him at the convention...but this is an emergency. Call him as soon a..." He trailed off as his eyes suddenly stared blankly at nothing.

"Netto?" Meiru called.

The brunette started shivering. "It's so cold..." he gasped. 

"Netto!" The pink haired girl called, "Netto, what's wrong?"

"Wh...what? No...no, go away...leave me alone..." He put his hands over his ears. "Shut up...Leave me alone!"

Plague was shivering, too, huddling against Rockman... "I-It's the virus..." He could feel that horrible, horrible cold, seeping into his joints, making his bones ache. There was a soft muttering in his ears... A hard hand suddenly gripped his arm... Plague turned his head slowly, looking up into Blues' emotionless face.

"Gutsman, help me hold him." As Gutsman gripped his other arm, though, Plague felt the cold receeding.

"I... th-think it's better... Netto-kun?" He gasped, looking into the monitor, eyes wide. This was scaring him a great deal...

..."Netto-kun!"

The boy went limp and collapsed on the floor of the pet store. 

"Netto!" Meiru shrieked, turning towards one of the clerks. "Please, sir! Call an ambulance!"

The clerk blinked. "Right away!" He'd been watching most of this, a little confused.

"Netto!" Rockman reached, out, pale, then looked at Plague. Plague stared up at him, wide eyed.

They both seemed to be fine...


	6. File Transfer Complete Preparing to In...

"...So that's it..." Mused Yuuichirou Hikari, Netto's father. It was the next day; He rushed 

home from the convention the moment he had heard the news about his son.When he 

arrived at the hospital, Plague and Rockman explained everything that happened.

"I'm so worried about him..." Rockman sighed, staring at the boy in the hospital bed. 

"This isn't right...I should be sharing his pain..."

"Oniisan," Plague interrupted, "I'm the cause of all this...if anyone should be feeling pain 

from the DNA link, it should be me..." He shook his head. "This is all my fault; Papa, I 

should have told you about the dreams before you left for the convention..."

Dr. Hikari forced a smile. "Plague, it's not your fault. I probably couldn't have done 

much, anyway...that virus is a part of you, I can't remove it without hurting you and 

Netto."

"I know..." Plague said morosely. "But maybe you could have taken out enough." Dr. 

Hikari shook his head. He'd looked at Plague's programming, and the virus had been too 

integral in his systems.

Dr. Hikari watched his son for a moment, then reached down to lightly brush away some 

sweaty brown hair. Netto stirred restlessly in his sleep, as if he was suffering a bad 

dream... according to the Doctors, he wasn't exactly unconscious, more asleep. But he 

wouldn't wake up.

"Is he going to be okay?" Rockman asked quietly, watching. It hurt, knowing what the 

virus might be doing to Netto. "Is there any way to severe the connection between Netto 

and Plague?"

"I doubt it... but we can see." Dr. Hikari sighed, then picked up the PET to examine 

Plague again. He had already found a data flow from the PET, going... somewhere. But 

he hadn't found a way to interrupt it without damaging Plague. But perhaps there was a 

way. 

"This is all my fault..." Plague sighed.

Rockman put his arm around his brother's shoulders. "Come on, Plague...you couldn't 

control what was happening."

"B-but if it weren't for me, this would have never happened!" He exclaimed. "I...I wish I 

never existed in the first place!"He clenched his fists and tears spilled from his eyes. 

"Rockman...we can still sever the virus's connection to Netto-kun..." He looked into his 

brother's eyes longingly. "Delete me. Do it now, while there's no DNA link to harm 

Netto-kun..."

"Plague, no." Dr. Hikari spoke firmly, blinking back a few tears. "I... I wish that would 

work, but the virus has created a data link with Netto. That could kill him as well."

Plague looked up at Dr. Hikari for a moment, his eyes hurt... then gazed back at 

Rockman. "I... I..." He suddenly collapses against Rockman, his shoulder's shaking with 

suppressed sobs. "It's not right! I..." Fear, grief, and guilt tore at his heart... Fear for 

Netto, grief at the damage done... and guilt for his part in it...

Rockman held him gently, looking at the screen. "Is there anything we can do...?"

Dr. Hikari shook his head sadly. "All we can do is wait and see what happens."

Rockman tightened his grip on his brother, slowly rocking the boy in his arms. 

"Plague...it's okay. It'll all turn out well in the end..." He cooed in the red navi's ear. 

Plague only sobbed harder. "I hate myself." he cried softly.

"I don't hate you." Rockman smiled. "Plague, you didn't have anything to do with this. 

There was no way you could have prevented it."

"That's what bothers me most!" Plague sighed and lightly pushed Rockman away from 

him. "I'd do anything for Netto-kun....even die. I love him, and...I love you." He looked 

up at Rockman longingly, "Please understand...I'd never do anything to hurt you...all 

those times-!"

"Plague, I know. I understand." He took the red navi's hand. "I love you too."

Plague's eyes went wide. "You...do?"

"Of course!" Rockman chuckled, "We are brothers, after all..."

Eyes spilling tears, Plague fell into Rockman's arms. That wasn't what I meant... He 

thought, but didn't say it aloud. I love you more than that...

Dr. Hikari watched them for a few moments, with a sad smile... then he glanced at Netto 

again. Netto-kun... come back to us. We love you. He reached out to touch his son's 

forehead again, as the Navi's gently cuddled.

All they had now was hope.

Plague yawned. He'd just finished charging for the day, and he was feeling a little light-

headed. He shrugged off the feeling, though.

Probably just the data transfer. Plague stretched, not noticing a subtle change in his 

appearance... He smiled when he saw Rockman, though.

"Rockman... good morning!" Rockman stared at Plague, shocked. The difference was 

very clear to him.

Plague's jumpsuit had turned purple in the night.

"Rockman?" Plague asked curiously, "Uh, Rockman? Why are you looking at me like 

that?"

"Uh..." Rockman blinked. "Try looking down."

Curious, Plague looked at the ground. "What? I don't see anything...what, did I step in 

met poo or something?"

"Uh...no...I mean, look at your outfit."

Raising an eyebrow, Plague glanced down at his jumpsuit.

An akward moment of silence passed.

"DOCTOR HIKARIIIIII!"

The good doctor was awakened with a jolt. "Wha... what?" He blinked, rubbing sleep out 

of his eyes.

"My outfit! It's different!" Plague was working up to hysteria. "What's this mean? What's 

going on? Ahhh, I LIKED being red! Is Netto okay?!?" Hikari winced, picking up the 

PET and looking Plague over.

"This is... odd." He said, staring at Plague. The unhappy Navi had changed to a deep, 

royal purple... but it seemed to be gradually lightening. "Your formatting has changed... I 

wonder why." He frowned, and began to check Plague's programming.

What he found sent a chill down his spine. "The virus... it seems to be... removing itself 

from you. Your program is reverting to the original, the way you were meant to be... a 

backup copy of Rockman." He watched the two PET's, wondering how they would take 

that.

Plague stared in wonder. "I'm turning into Rockman?" He murmured, staring down at his 

jupsuit. He looked up. "And the virus is leaving?"

Hikari nodded. "Unfortunately, that also means that the virus is getting stronger inside 

Netto."

Sighing, Plague leaned against a wall that happened to be there. "I can't believe this...it's a

all my fault..." 

"Plague, listen to me." Rockman grabbed his brother's shoulders and stared into his 

eyes....it was like looking into a mirror. He was changing by the second, but he 

continued: "It. Is. Not. Your. Fault."

Plague sighed and rested his head against his brother's shoulder. "For some reason, I just 

can't bring myself to believe that..." He glanced back at Dr. Hikari. "But really...the virus 

is disappearing, and I'm turning into Rockman...is Plague really a good name for me 

anymore?"

Dr. Hikari blinked, thinking about that. "Probably not... but unless you think of 

something else, it will do for now." He suddenly smiled. "We can't call you Rockman! 

That would be too confusing. We'll have enough trouble, if your appearance gets 

anymore similar." And their attitude. Plague's voice was already a bit quieter, less brash 

than it had been. It was a noticeable difference.

Dr. Hikari glanced at Netto, his eyes darkening with worry. This did mean the virus was 

becoming stronger in him... probably completing it's transference. And what would he 

have then?

His son's body would be alive, speaking... but it wouldn't be his son. It would be a 

program meant solely for destruction, wanting to inflict devestation on the real world. It 

would be easy enough to contain Netto's body... but how could he be helped?

Suddenly, Netto stirred.

"Netto!" Dr. Hikari exclaimed, rushing to the bedside.

"Netto-kun!" Two voices said in unison. Rockman looked at Plague.

Plage looked exactly like him.

_This can't be good._ Rockman thought. "Dr. Hikari! Is he okay...?"

Netto moaned. His eyes fluttered open, carrying a vacant stare.

"Netto.." Dr. Hikari gasped, "Netto, please say something!"

The brunette stared at the ceiling; his chestnut eyes wide and blank.

He blinked.

He took a deep breath.

"Netto...?"

"Netto-kun?"

The young boy turned his head to stare at his father, a small grin appearing on his face. 

"Installation complete."


	7. Escape!

**Notes from Marisa: **Aaahh! Yes, we're alive! Oh, so very alive! And filled with goo… mission goo… Author's blood runs through me like radioactive rubber pants! The pants command me! Do not ignore my veins!

Um… heh heh. Sorry bout that. Went kind of Zim on ya there. This is Marisa. I'm sorry to say this but… this chapter's been completed for months. I've just been too lazy to put it up. =P

But now, Aria and Marisa present…

**CHAPTER…something. Whatever number comes next.**

**By Aria and Marisa**

--------------

"Got places to go, got to follow my rainbow

Can't stick around, have to keep moving on

_Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out…"_

-"City Escape" from Sonic Adventure 2

-------------

Yuichirou immediately knew who was talking. He stood in shock for a moment.  
Plague, the virus inside of Netto, sat up in the hospital bed and grinned.  
  


"Let my son go." Yuichirou hissed.  
  


The virus only chuckled. "Are you kidding? _This_ is my chance!" He motioned towards his chest. "Don't you understand, Hikari? I'm _free. _To do as I please. I-"  
He stopped short when Dr. Hikari grabbed the boy's arm. "Not in _this_ world, you aren't."  
  


"Netto-kun!" Rockman cried out from the PET, "Netto-kun! You're still in there somewhere, I know you are! _Fight_ it! You're stronger than he is! This is _your _body!"  
  


"Shut _up,_ you worthless bit of data!" The virus hissed through Netto's mouth.

The virus tried to fight Netto's father... but it's blows were clumsy, and constrained by Netto's strength. Which was nothing compared to a grown man.  
  


"Hey... let go of me!" Plague snarled as Dr. Hikari pinned one arm behind his back.  
  


"No." Dr. Hikari said as calmly as he could. "We're going to help Netto. You-uf!" The virus managed to slam an elbow into his gut, and suddenly broke free.  
  


"I don't think so!" With a wild laugh, it sprinted out of the room, careening into a wall before righting itself.  
  


"Netto! Netto-kun!" The new Rockman called, despairing. "Come back!" But Plague didn't listen... The virus dashed down the hallway, dressed only in a hospital gown, dodging doctors, patients, and visitors alike. He slowly, but surely, was getting used to the feel of a human body...yes, this was it, this was his chance, he would finally-  
  


**SLAM!  
  
**

Plague crashed into the wall at the end of the hallway.  
  


"For god sakes..." He hissed. "Why would the hall end here? How on earth do I escape?"  
  


Glancing around, he saw the elevator doors open, and its passengers stepped out.   
  


_Is that it?_ Plague rushed into the elevator before the doors shut, but still didn't see an exit. And the doors had just shut on him, too, so he couldn't leave. Was this some sort of trap? He turned to see a panel of buttons on the wall. The numbers... he understood the numbers, but couldn't understand the signifigance. He finally pressed one at random, and lurched as he felt the elevator move.  
  


_...Ah! A way to go up and down!_ Grinning at the revelation, he pushed the button for the ground floor. That would let him get out. He tensed as the doors slid open... then sprinted out, narrowly avoiding a security guard.  
  


_Hah!_ Plague exulted in his own cleverness and agility, ducking under another person who registered only as an obstacle. He barrelled through the doors, out of the hospital.  
  


His lack of real clothing didn't bother him a bit, although the stinging in his feet was somewhat distracting. Netto usually didn't run without shoes. He glanced around, his eyes widening in shock. The real world was so..._big!_ He had such trouble desciribing it...Finally deciding to ignore it, "Netto" turned and ran in the direction opposite the hospital. _Away._ He had to get away. Unsure of where he'd end up, he continued forward. He paused suddenly, and let out a small giggle. Something under his feet was...was stimulating him, somehow, making him laugh...he looked down, to see little green hairs sticking out of the ground. Frowning in confusion, he wondered what purpose they could possibly serve. He let it slide and continued forward, not checking to see if he was being chased or not.  
  


The 'hairs' abruptly ended, and Netto's body was now running on cold cement. His feet felt numb...running suddenly became hard. He paused to catch his breath.  
Being a human was hard...  
  


**HONK!  
  
**

Plague looked up in shock.  
  


_"HEY KID! GET OUTTA THE WAY!"  
  
_

The virus was paralyzed with fear, as a giant...thing came toward him.  
  


SCREEEECH!  
  


It came to a sudden halt, only inches from the virus-turned-navi-turned-human.   
  


"Yo' crazy kid! Tryin' to get yo'self killed?!"

Netto started, backing up, wide eyed... he didn't know what to say, if anything. He backed back onto the 'hairs'... they seemed to be safe... and watched as the thing let loose with a loud sound, then speeded away.  
  


There was so many of them... the virus stared at the cars, trying to decide their purpose. They had humans in them, and were moving quickly... obviously they weren't eating the humans, but why would the humans bother with them?  
  


Netto glanced up, and winced, shading his eyes for a moment. The light in the sky was so bright. He glanced around... no one seemed to be following him. Of course, that left him to sort out what he should be doing.

"I have to get somewhere, but...where?" He murmured. Perhaps he'd know it when he found it.   
  


He walked on, feeling himself grow weary with each step. This human body was so weak...it disgusted him.   
  


Suddenly, he felt his stomach lurch as it gave out a loud growling sound. He gasped and fell to his knees, clutching the area in pain.   
  


"The hell?!" He exclaimed, trying to get up again. His legs quivered, and buckled again. "God, Netto...what is *wrong* with your body?!" he murmured.  
  


One of those...things, this one labeled "Police", suddenly pulled up next to "Netto". A pane of glass rolled down the side, and a man in a blue uniform leaned out and asked, "Hey, kid...you all right?"

The virus frowned up at him, and managed to lurch to his feet. "I'm fine." His legs still felt weak, though, and he trembled slightly. His body had been in bed for quite a while, and it was still weakened, in addition to the strange pain in his stomach.  
  


The man in the blue uniform opened his door, stepping out. "You're wearing a hospital gown... what are you doing out here?"  
  


"I left." Netto retorted sullenly, a pinprick of fear going through him. He'd run away from the hospital. This man might want to take him back. "What's it to you?"  
  


The man gave him a flinty, disapproving look, that Netto met with a steely gaze. He had no idea what "Police" meant, and didn't respond the way a child should.  
  


"Bet you were trying to avoid an amputation or something...am I right?"  
  


"Ampu...what?"  
  


"Never mind...I just find a lot of those these days. Careless kids...anyway, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you back to the hospital."  
  


"NO!" Plague exclaimed, as the 'Police' grabbed his arm. The virus attempted to fight, but Netto's body was weak in general, not to mention tired and hungry.

"I'm not going back there!" The virus snarled, fighting as much as he could. But he was quickly subdued and forced into the car.  
  


"Don't make me mad, kid." The man advised, starting the engine. Plague started at the loud rumble and vibration.  
  


"What IS this thing?" It was plainly meant to be sat in... the seats were quite comfortable, if he overlooked the fact that he didn't want to be here.  
  


"A car? Do you have amnesia?"

"Amnesia...? Uh, yeah. I guess so..."  
  


The policeman nodded. "Ah, makes sense now." He shut the door on Netto, and strolled over to the front seat, opened the door, and got in. "Listen, I know the hospital can be scary for kids like you...but really, the doctors are looking out for your best interest, you know?"  
  


_Netto's best interest, not mine. _The virus thought bitterly. It must be wonderful, having people care about you...he remembered it vaguely, being inside that disgustingly sweet navi... it felt kind of good, though, despite the fact that they hated the virus.  
There was a rumble, and the 'car' began to move. Netto watched the road move by at what the previously thought was an impossible speed. _Ah...transportation!_ He deduced.

Netto watched the road, then the approaching vehicles, pondering what he should do. Anything in the car was out. For one thing, it was moving at a high rate of speed, and upsetting the driver would likely be bad. And even if he wanted to, he couldn't. The car had a kind of panel seperating the front seat from the back. He wondered if they were all like that.  
  


Perhaps he could escape when they reached the hospital. But there was suddenly another pain from his stomach, and he winced.  
  


_What IS that?_ He was tempted to surrender himself just to make it go away.

His eyes widened as he felt a thought cross his mind. It went something like, _'Where am I? Let me out!'_...sure, he wanted out, but he knew where he was...  
  


_The boy…is he fighting me? Can I hear his thoughts?  
  
_

He closed his eyes and fought back, struggled to keep conciousness. Though he didn't exactly know how, he could try to send him messages to the boy... he concentrated. _This is my body now._ He thought, trying to direct it to Netto.   
  


No answer. Either he was winning the struggle, or the message didn't send successfully.  
But whatever...the car stopped, and they were in front of the hospital again.

When the man opened the door, Plague promptely stepped out, intending to run... and tripped on the hard ground.  
  


_OW!_ He hissed in pain as his toes protested the treatment, and the officer caught his arm, keeping him on his feet.  
  


"Careful, kid. C'mon, lets get you inside." Plague/Netto's eyes narrowed as he realized he truly had no strength left to run with. And another thought occured to him.  
  


_How can they get me out, anyway, without my cooperation? Why shouldn't I go with him, for now?_ He was lost, alone, and unable to adapt quickly enough for this world. Unless they locked him up somewhere, perhaps he should let them take care of him... for a time.


	8. UnEnemies

 Holy crud. Ten pages. _Ten pages!_ That's got to be a fanfic record. No, never mind, I'm sure there are longer ones out there… hmm… CHAPTER 8 

**-------**

_by Marisa and Aria_

_------_

Yuuichirou paced back and forth in front of Netto's bed. Hours earlier, the Policeman had dropped 'Netto' back at the hospital.  
  


Finally, Yuuichirou ceased his pacing and faced the body of his son. "Whom am I speaking to?" He queried.  
  


"Netto." Lied Plague.  
  


"I don't believe you." Snapped Yuuichirou.   
  


Plague scowled.   
  


"I can tell when it's my son speaking to me." Continued the scientist.

"I wonder how." Plague muttered, unconsciously dredging up the information that was most guaranteed to hurt. "It's not like you're ever home with him."  
  


Yuuichirou froze, then glared fiercely at the young boy. The words did hurt... but other things were more important, right now. "What are you planning to do, Plague."  
  


That question made Plague hesitate. He didn't know. He'd thought it would be so easy to cause havoc... but it wasn't, not when he was trapped in the body of a child.  
  


It left the question open on what he would do.

"I will do what I was programmed to do." He stated bluntly.  
  


Yuuichirou raised an eyebrow. "Plague, you're in a human body now. Humans aren't programmed; they think on their own."  
  


"I am a program."  
  


"Plague. you're a soul, now."   
  


_A soul..._ Plague echoed mentally. He knew the term. He didn't understand it.  
  


"And you're in a stolen body." Dr. Hikari added.   
  


"I'll put it to good use." Sneered Plague.

Then, a pain in his stomach interrupted his thoughts.  
  


"My stomach hurts..." He muttered, wincing. Dr. Hikari frowned slightly.  
  


"When was the last time you ate?"  
  


"Ate?" Plague frowned at the unfamiliar word. "What is that?" The information was probably in the Net... but he hadn't cared to know, before.  
  


This human body had so many strange features.

Yuuichirou sighed and walked towards the door. He turned and pointed at Plague. "Stay."  
  


"I'm not a dog." Plague snapped.  
  


The scientist remained silent and shut the door. Plague had no reason to run; perhaps he needed to know about this...'eat', and many other human habits.  
  


Yawning, he stretched out across the bed. Being human was harder than he had first thought. He rolled over on his side, and his eyelids drooped. Odd, why was it so hard to...keep...his eyes...

Yuuichirou reentered the room carrying a plate, only to find that Plague had fallen asleep.

Plague opened his eyes, peering around alertly. For all his alertness, though, there was a dreamy quality to the scenario he found himself in. But...  
  


Plague looked down, and grinned toothily. His body was black and red, and held all the deadly grace of his virus nature. He idly flexed his hands, looking at his black, glistening claws...

"Plague?"  
  


The virus whirled. There, behind him, stood himself...  
  


_No!_ He shouted in his mind, _It's that Netto boy...you mustn't confuse the two!  
  
_

"Plague...you..." Netto stopped. "You're the virus."  
  


"Yes."  
  


Silence.  
  


"What have you done?" Netto snapped.  
  


"Taken your body."  
  


"Well, that much was obvious..." The brunette murmured, looking down at himself. "HOLY CRAP, I'M NAKED!" His face turned red as he curled up and tried to cover himself.  
  


Plague rolled his eyes. "Stupid little boy..."

"I'm not stupid, I'm NAKED!" Netto looked around frantically, trying to find clothes... but there was nothing.  
  


"As if I care." Plague snorted, running a claw along his armor. Netto winced at the horrible, scraping sound.  
  


"Stop that! How do you have clothes?" He complained, and Plague tilted his head to one side, then shrugged.  
  


"I suppose I expected to." He said flatly. Netto blinked, wondering if he could create his own clothing, in this strange dream world.

Plague opened his mouth to insult the boy once again when-  
  


FLASH!  
  


A bright white light. Yuuichirou was looking down on him. "Have a nice nap?"  
  


"Nap?" Echoed Plague.  
  


"You were asleep."  
  


"Asleep?" Plague blinked. He knew the definition of so many terms, but didn't truly comprehend them. "Is...is sitting in a dark void talking to Netto 'sleeping'?"  
  


Yuuichirou's eyes widened. "You spoke to Netto?! What did he say?!"  
  


Plague thought a moment. "Not much, except he made a big deal about him being naked." _That crazy little boy..._ _PLAGUE YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW I'VE STILL GOT A *LOT* TO SAY TO YOU!!   
  
_

Blinking, Plague wondered, _What just happened? Are Netto's thoughts coming through? PAPA! ROCKMAN! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? HELP!   
  
_

"Is something wrong?" Yuuichirou asked, handing the ramen to Plague. "Here, eat, you need it..."  
  


"I can hear Netto." Plague murmured, wondering why he bothered to tell them. _PAPA! ROCK! WHERE ARE YOU?_

"You...you can?" Dr. Hikari gasped.  
  


"Can you talk back?" Rockman piped up.  
  


"I'm trying.." Plague murmured, "But it's not getting through...and most of Netto's thoughts aren't, either...it seems he has to be shouting..."  
  


"What's he saying?" Yuuichirou asked urgently. "Can he see us? Can he see what you're seeing and hearing?"  
  


"No, I don't think he can..." After a moment, Plague added, "He's calling for you. And Rockman. And..." He paused, "He says he loves you."  
  


There was a pause. "Plague," Yuuichirou began, "Do you even know what that means?"  
  


"Yes." Snapped Plague, "Of course I do; it's one of those stupid human emotions."  
  


There was another growl in Plague's stomach."Uh...can you explain the 'eat' thing to me again?"

Dr. Hikari couldn't help but smile, a bit sadly. In many ways, Plague was very... innocent.  
  


"It's the way we humans fuel our body. Here." Dr. Hikari picked up a sandwich, and demonstrated. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he didn't think Plague would understand otherwise.  
  


Plague, meanwhile, was feeling weirded out and slightly nauseated. He stared at Yuuichirou, then at the sandwiches.  
  


"Ick." He muttered, then reached out to pick one up, trying it. He blinked as he bit in, and stopped.  
  


"What's...?" He tried to ask, but Rockman interrupted.  
  


"Don't talk with your mouth full." Plague gave Rockman a scathing glance, but swallowed.  
  


"What WAS that?" He had no idea what that strange sensation had been. Dr. Hikari frowned, then smiled.  
  


"Oh, you mean the taste? That's a human sense." Plague frowned, but he understood senses... although taste hadn't been in his repertoire, until now. He cautiously bit into the sandwich again, and chewed.  
  


"Ugh, and close your mouth when you eat." Rockman complained. Plague gave him an angry, but slightly confused look, speaking with his mouth full again.  
  


"How can I eat and keep my mouth closed?"

"Your jaw can still move while your lips are closed." Yuuichirou explained.   
  


Nodding, Plague tried that out. It worked. "Mmm..." He nodded. He kept on chewing. And chewing. Finally, he said with his mouth still full. "I don shink ish workin..."  
  


"You're supposed to swallow." Yuuichirou explained. "Use your tongue to push the food to the back of your mouth and down your throat."  
  


Plague did so. The food slid down easily. "You stupid humans have to do so many stupid things to survive." he noted, taking another bite of the sandwich. "Mm.."  
  


After Plague had finished his meal, Yuuichirou finally asked him, "Plague, who programmed you?"  
  


Plague blinked. Silence enveloped the room. Finally, he admitted, "I don't know."

"What do you know?" Dr. Hikari asked, slowly sitting down. From the very start, he had wondered if Plague was a random thing, infecting Rockman's backup by chance... or if it had been intended.  
  


"I don't know." Plague said again. "I was activated in your network." Yuuichirou immediately tensed.  
  


"You're sure of that?" He asked urgently. Plague gave him a disdainful look.  
  


"Of course. I couldn't be mistaken about that!" Dr. Hikari fell silent, thinking. That meant Plague had either been created by someone with access to his network, or somehow transported there. He'd never heard of a virus like this on the net, so it was unlikely someone had accidentally brought in an infected diskette.  
  


It was alarming.

Plague stared at the food. _I know next to nothing about myself..._ He realized, _I only know my purpose...which I'm determined to fulfill. _LET ME OUT OF HERE!PAPA! ROCKMAN! CAN YOU HEAR ME? _Shut up boy. I'm trying to think.   
  
_

Netto's cries rang through his head. After a moment of mentally trying to answer him, Netto showed no signs of answering or even acknowledging it, so they obviously couldn't communicate back and forth. _Why is he trying so hard? What drives him to want to reach out to his family?_ What was it? It couldn't be Netto's purpose; it didn't benefit him much...did it?   
_PAAAPAAA! ROOOCKMAAAN! **SOMEBODY!**  
  
_

Plague's head snapped up as a twang of...of _something_ pulsed through him rapidly. His throat tightened, his chest felt numb and heavy, and his eyes burned. "Wh...what's happening?" His voice trembled, and as he talked, a salty water rolled from his eyes to the sides of his mouth. "What did that _stupid_ boy do?"  
  


Plague tensed as warm arms suddenly enfolded him, and he fought away an urge to simply relax into that comfort. It wasn't right. It wasn't what viruses did...  
  


"It's called crying, Plague. It's what humans do when we're sad." Dr. Hikari said, his voice rough with pain. He stroked back a bit of Plague's hair, as Plague tried to hold back the tears.  
  


"Why? What's the purpose of it?" He murmured, eyes glazing as more of Netto's thoughts pounded into him, like surf on the beach.  
  


_ROCKMAN! PAPA!_ Netto cried. Finally, with rage, he called out,_ PLAAAAGUE!  
  
_

Taking a deep breath, Plague tried desperately to maintain control. He looked up at Dr. Hikari, his face blank.  
  


"What now? What will you do with me?" Plague asked grimly. He was so unfamiliar with humans, there was almost no chance of surviving on his own. He had to depend on Yuuichirou's generosity, for now at least.  
  


"We're going to take care of you, Plague."  
  


_"'We'?"_ Echoed Rockman bitterly. "I have no intention of helping that no-good, body snatching son of a-"  
  


"Rockman." The other navi, who had once been referred to as 'Plague', put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Come on, now, if anything, you have to do it for Netto-kun. He's still in there, after all."  
  


With a blink, Rockman nodded. "All right. But only because he's in Netto-kun's body."  
  


"You won't have to do much, anyway." Yuuichirou noted; "Just try to convince the others there's nothing wrong. I'll take care of him from here." His gaze fell back on Plague, who was choking back sobs. "Come on, Plague, there's nothing wrong with crying..." He cooed, rubbing the boy's back.   
  


Plague buried his face in Yuuichirou's chest and started to sob.  
  


"I don't..." Plague choked out. "I don't want to be here! I thought I would be able to... to fulfill my programming, but I can't! I hate it!" In his mind, he saw the digital landscape unfurling and felt a sharp pang of longing for it. For the crisp, open spaces, the glittering data, the things he KNEW how to deal with. Not all this alien space, things he knew nothing of and cared less about, like this body and it's strange demands.  
  


"Really?" Rockman sounded excited. "Then why don't you go back to Plague!"  
  


"Hey!" Rockman's twin sounded slightly offended. But it didn't matter. Plague sniffed into Yuuichirou's chest.  
  


"I... I don't know how anymore. I can't find the transmission trail..." At first, he'd been aware of it, but gradually, that awareness had faded away.  
It was a frightening admission.  
  


"Plague... until we can figure out how to reverse this, we'll have to work with what we have." Yuichirou explained. "Now, it's late. You need sleep."  
  


"Sleep?" Plague questioned wearily, still trembling from his sobs.  
  


"You were sleeping not long ago. Just lay down, close your eyes, and try to relax, okay?"  
  


Plague nodded, and stretched across the bed.  
  


"Put your head on the pillow. That white thing over there."  
  


"Hm?" Plague did so, not seeing the point...that is, until he found a comfortable position. He yawned, and snuggled into the mattress. Yuuichirou gave a weak smile and pulled the covers over the boy. Mere moments had passed before Plague's breaths were slow and steady, his eyes closed.  
  


Yuuichirou picked up Rockman's PET, not wanting either of the navis to wake up Plague, and slowly left the room.  
  
"You're betraying Netto-kun." Rockman snapped the moment the door was shut.   
  


Yuichirou frowned. "What makes you say that?"  
  


Rockman scowled. "You're being more of a father to Plague right now than you ever were to Netto-kun. You held him when he cried, you even tucked him into bed!"   
  


"Rock, Plague doesn't know anything about our world. He doesn't have anyone who cares about him, no family, he doesn't even know who programmed him!" Yuichirou explained, "Plague needs me."  
  


"And Netto doesn't?!" Rockman inquired, not using the "-kun" ending to add effect.  
  


Yuichirou scowled and switched the PET off without another word.  
  


The second Rockman lurked in his PET, silent and worried. Then he sighed, deciding to speak up.  
  


"He has a point... you're not around much..." He ventured tentatively, and winced when Yuichirou glared at him.  
  


"Don't you start. There are reasons for that." 'Rockman' didn't say anything, but his expression was eloquent. Whatever the reasons were, they probably didn't matter much to Netto.  
Yuichirou shut the second PET off, as well, before walking out of the hospital. He would have to explain all this to Netto's mother, before he could take Plague home. It was hard to say how she would cope with the news...  
  


"You again!" Netto exclaimed.  
  


Plague blinked. "Oh, I seem to be back."  
  


"I want my body back." Netto stated bluntly.  
  


"Take it! I want to get out!" Plague exclaimed. "I...I don't know anything about humans!"  
  


"Good! So give it back!"  
  


_"I don't know how!"  
  
_

Netto winced. "Well, then, that sucks."   
  


Silence passed between them. Plague found it annoying. Finally, he murmured, "Your dad's really nice."  
"...Nice? What do you mean?" Netto stared at Plague, and Plague shrugged.  
  


"Oh, tucking me into bed, holding me when you made me start crying... that sort of thing." He said dismissively. He couldn't know it was anything strange.  
  


Netto, on the other hand, felt a sharp pang as he stared at the feral creature in front of him. His father had done all that... for this? _He never did that for me!  
  
_

Plague watched Netto, eyes narrowed. The child was acting strangely, staring away... "What, did he never do that for you?" The virus didn't believe that for a moment. Why would Dr. Hikari do something for him he didn't do for his own son?

"N..no..!" Netto choked, "He was always busy, he never had time for me... and then..." the brunette's eyes grew narrow with hatered, "someone takes my body and dad's all over him! I _hate _you!" Netto screamed. "I hate you, I hate you, _I hate you!"  
_Plague only stared. _Hate?_ He wondered what it was. Though, somewhere in the back of his mind, he started to realize that he would much prefer it if Netto didn't say that.

"... He was probably just worried about you." Plague finally said. It sounded lame, even to himself. "And you were the one who made me cry." If it hadn't been for that, Netto's father wouldn't have held him... but Netto just turned away, hugging himself.  
  


_What am I supposed to do about this?_ Just doing nothing sprang to mind, but somehow, that left a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn't want Netto to hate him. _Then...  
  
_

Hesitantly, he tried to mimic what Dr. Hikari had done to him... he touched Netto's bare shoulders, keeping his claws carefully sheathed, then gently held the shivering, angry boy. The bare skin felt strange against his hard, virus body. "I'm not the one he cares about, Netto." A fact that didn't bother Plague in the slightest.

"Get away from me." Netto spat, pushing the cold hands away. He didn't want that... that _thing_ to so much as touch him, much less hold him. "You're no comfort."  
  


Plague sighed. Why was he trying so hard to keep the boy happy, anyway? "Netto...I just…"  
  


"Just go back to papa! He obviously cares for you more!"  
  


"That's not it at all, Netto-!"  
  


"Why are you trying to comfort me?"  
  


"I don't know!" Plague hissed, making a sound like a teakettle about to boil over. He didn't know why he was bothering with the boy, it was frustration. "It must be the stupid emotions of this stupid body!" Growling, he turned away and tried to walk off.  
  


But he couldn't. Oh, he felt like he was walking... but he wasn't going anywhere. The featureless void stayed the same. And Netto...  
  


"That looks stupid." Plague whirled on the boy, eyes flashing.  
  


"You're stupid!"

"You're-"

  
_Plague? Plague, wake up.  
  
_Plague blinked. He was suddenly out of the void, staring up at Yuichirou's face.  
  


"Have a nice rest?" The scientist asked cheerfully.  
Hesitantly, Plague nodded.   
  


"I explained everything to Haruka, so you're going to come home with me today."  
  


"Who's Haruka?" Plague asked.  
  


"My wife. Your..._Netto's_ mother."

Plague pondered that statement for a moment. Mother... a human of the opposite gender. Although he was very vague on the details of how males and females created little humans. Still, right now, he didn't much care. "Okay." Plague slipped out of bed, wrinkling his nose at the hospital gown he was wearing.  
  


"Here, put these on..." Yuichirou smiled cheerfully, handing Plague some clothes. It took Plague a few minutes to figure them out, but when he got them on, they were far more comfortable than the gown. Although...  
  


"How do I use these things?" Plague struggled with the shoelaces, frustrated.  
_PLAGUE! I HATE YOU!_ Plague winced at that mental shout. Netto was obviously getting frustrated as well.  
  


"Oh, shut up, stupid child." He muttered as he tried to get the shoelaces working again. It was far more difficult than it looked.

Yuichirou stifled a laugh. When you get right down to it, Plague was almost just like a little child. "Here, let me help you." He offered, kneeling down and tying the laces for him. "Look, you make a loop here, and then you pull the end through it... are you listening?"  
  


"Mm?" Plague snapped back into focus. "Sorry, Netto was yelling at me."  
  


Yuichirou's face grew solemn. "What's he saying?"  
  


Plague didn't answer.

Dr. Hikari watched Plague for a moment, then asked again, gently. "Plague, what's he saying?"  
  


"... He's calling me stupid." That was part of a long tirade. Plague wasn't about to tell Yuichirou what Netto was saying about him, although he wasn't sure why. It seemed... pointless, unnecessary.  
  


Cruelty was a new concept for Plague.  
  


"Oh. Well, watch carefully." Plague watched as he did the laces, then undid them again. "There, you try."  
  


Plague did his best, but bared his teeth with a growl. The best he could make was a very clumsy knot. "Stupid things! It's so much easier on the Net."

"This isn't the Net, Plague."  
  


Plague spat, "I know that! I was just...just...oh I don't know."  
  


"Come on." Yuichirou re-tied the shoes and led Netto towards the door. "Let's go, Haruka is waiting for us."

**

He stood over the computer, staring at the screen, browsing through Dr. Hikari's computer files. He was quite the hacker; this talent derived from his knowledge of computer programming.  
"Effin' hell, where _is _it?" He snarled, his fingers dancing across the keyboard swiftly. "I worked on that virus for over a year; took me weeks to plant it... no signs of deletion...!" Perhaps Hikari had found it, and moved it? Made sense; the scientist would analyze it and try to find out who programmed it. But _where? _Could it still do damage?   
If something went wrong, he could try and plant it once again...


	9. Close, yet Far Away

"Eat." Haruka commanded, setting a plate of... _stuff_...in front of Plague

Plague leaned back, his nostils assaulted by the strong, spicy smell. "What is it?"  
  


"It's curry, Netto's favorite type." Haruka smiled, slightly worried, as she watched the stranger in her son's body. Although... he wasn't really that strange, especially when he poked the curry dubiously with a spoon.  
  


_Netto hasn't acted like that in years._ But he had acted like that once, and it was reassuring.  
  


"You're certain it won't kill me?" Plague asked suspiciously, trying to identify what had gone into it. He could recognize some vegetables, but after that, his limited knowledge gave out. Haruka laughed, a sweet sound. Plague grimaced, and finally took a bite.  
  


"GRF!" He choked, trying not to spit it out. It was HOT, but not a hot of heat... he couldn't describe the taste...

"Need some water?" Haruka suggested, pushing the glass toward him. Plague swallowed down the curry, and stared at the glass. "How do I eat it?"  
  


"You don't eat it, you drink it." She held the glass up to his lips. "Here, open your mouth..."  
  


Plague parted his lips, and something very cold poured into his mouth. He gasped, which was a mistake. In seconds he was coughing uncontrollably, with Haruka patting his back.   
  


"Oh, I'm sorry! I just don't know what to expect from you..."  
  


"I..._kch kch..._it's okay. You _kch_ probably meant well, Mrs. Hikari..."  
  


"Oh..." Haruka frowned. The name sounded so strange coming from Netto's mouth. She was so used to him calling her 'mama'... Would Netto mind if Plague called her that for the time that he was human?

"Why don't you just call me mama?" She finally suggested, touching his hair lightly. "If Netto wouldn't mind?" Plague frowned at the thought.  
  


"He'd mind." Plague tried to drink the water a second time, and managed to get it down. His throat felt unpleasantly itchy, though, from the first experience. "He minded Dr. Hikari holding me. I could call you Haruka." That probably didn't sound much better, though. But Plague didn't want to make things worse.

_...Why should I care if things get worse?_ Frowning irritably, Plague tried the curry again. It was still terribly hot, and he couldn't understand why. "How do humans make foods taste so different?"

Haruka only smiled. "Different seasonings and such..."  
  


Plague stared at her blankly.   
  


Haruka offered, "Would you like me to show you how?"  
  


"Um..." Plague blinked. "All right."  
  


Haruka nodded. "All right, then. Your cooking lessons start now. Let's see.." She flipped through the pages of her cookbook. "Let's start with something simple. Chocolate Chip Cookies, that should work."

Plague read off the ingredients, and Haruka showed him how to measure each one. She couldn't help but smile throughout the lesson; after all, Netto never wanted cooking lessons from her...

"This isn't too hard." Plague watched as she mixed the batter. "Just follow the directions... is it always that easy?" Surely there was a bit more too it. Haruka smiled at him.  
  


"Mostly. But then you have to cook it, and make sure you take it out at the right time. And some recipies are trickier. I've never been able to get fudge right."  
  


"Ah." Plague didn't know what fudge was, but assumed it was something good. He looked at the chocolate chips curiously, then popped one in his mouth. He blinked at the taste, then paused, savoring it. It was very strange, but good.  
  


"Plague, could you grease the pans?" Plague tilted his head to one side, but nodded, and started searching for them. He pulled out a pan... he did know what one was... and started to leave the kitchen.  
  


"Plague, where are you going?" Haruka looked at him, confused, and Plague glanced back.  
  


"To get some grease from the garage." Unfortunately, motor oil was the grease he was thinking of...

Haruka laughed. "Here, this is what I meant." She picked up a spray can from the counter. "This is the type we use for cooking and..." She glanced at the pan he was holding, "And that's a skillet. For cookies, we need a cookie sheet." She opened a cabinet and searched around for the cookie sheet. "Here we go. Now, you just take this and spray it on there so there's a little bit all over the pan. We don't want to much, or..."  
  
***  
  
"Haruka," Plague murmured, "There's something wrong with the air."  
  


"Mm?" Haruka blinked. "What do you mean?"  
  


"It..." Plague tried to describe it, "It tastes funny."  
  


Haruka smiled and shook her head. "That's called smell, if it comes from the air. You're smelling the cookies baking. Speaking of which..." She checked the timer. "We've got a minute left."

Plague nodded, sitting back. "Ah..." He breathed the air deeply, examining the smell. 

"Haruka?"  
  


"Yes?"  
  


"If this is permanent... what will we do?" Plague still wanted to destroy the world, but he was realizing the limitations of trying to do it from a little boy's body. And it couldn't be a cheerful thought for Netto's mother, even if Plague was behaving himself.  
  


Plague watched Haruka, not certain what he was seeing in her face. Sadness?  
  


"..It's not permanent, Plague." She finally said, firmly. "Yuichirou will find a way to put you back in your Navi body." Plague wrinkled his nose at that.  
  


"He's sickening. Too much Rockman in him." Even with all he had done to corrupt the backup, the essential purity had come through. Very annoying to a virus. Still.. "I think I'd like that better. This wasn't a good idea."

He rested his head against the wall. "Everything here is so difficult... you're so limited... !"  
  


"Plague..." Haruka smiled and stroked his hair, "That's part of being human. You have to work for happiness."  
  


"Well I don't like it." The virus pouted.   
  


_Tracking system engaged.   
  
_

Eh? What was that? It wasn't Netto...  
  


_Virus Plague.EXE locared  
  
_

"Ugh..." Plague felt suddenly dizzy.  
  
-----  
  
"The heck?" The hacker murmured. "Stupid computer can find the virus... but... _access denied?"_ This was awkward. He was used to being able to enter any computer system at his own will. "Well, I'll just have to work my way in." It might be time consuming, and it would certainly be tedious, but he could find his way into any system. Eventually.  
  
---  
  
Haruka pulled the thermometer out of Plague's mouth, looking at it carefully. "Well, you have a bit of a temperature." She stroked back his hair, and he closed his eyes tightly.  
  


"Joy." Plague muttered. He felt sick and achey, and his mind felt oddly... stuffed up. Since those first few words, he hadn't heard much... but what little he could catch alarmed him. And it wasn't like a voice. It was like... code. _Who could it be? And what are they doing?_ It wasn't Netto. Netto had yelled at him a few minutes ago, though, demanding to know what was going on. So it was affecting him, too. That made Plague even more uneasy. He wondered if...  
  


"Maybe we should talk to Dr. Hikari." He said tiredly. He doubted he was imagining the words in his mind, although it was possible.

"Plague... he's not _that_ kind of doctor."  
  


"No..." He coughed. "It's just... I hear something. Some kind of ... well, it's switching between voices and ... I don't know. It's registering in my mind as a code."  
  


Haruka frowned. "A code? Well... all right. I'll call him." She left the room. Plague concentrated, trying to remember each letter as they came one by one. Finally, he stumbled out of the bed he lay in, and rummaged through the mess that was Netto's desk until he found what he was looking for: a pen and paper.  
Frantically, he scribbled down each letter as it came, but they were coming so quickly; by the time he had written one down, two or the more would have passed. But he persisted; Dr. Hikari might be able to make something out of it...

Plague didn't look up as Haruka came back into the room, still trying to write.  
  


"He says he's coming right home... Plague, what are you doing?" Haruka blinked, trying to see what he was writing. Plague shook his head.  
  


"Trying... to get the codes..." Plague bit his lip as the codes suddenly stopped... then winced as another wave of diziness ran through him. Warm arms were suddenly around him...  
  


"Oh, Plague! You're burning up!" Haruka said, distressed, and Plague shivered as she helped him back to the bed. He suddenly felt terribly cold. "Rest, until Yuuchirou gets home. He'll know what to do." At least, she hoped so. If Plague was correct about the codes, maybe he would.

Plague nodded, still trying to write... had to write this down ... need to know ... what's going on ... !  
  


With a moan, he collapsed into Haruka's arms.   
  


"Plague!" She gasped, lifting him and carrying the preteen to his bed. "Oh, oh no..." She looked at the piece of paper. To her, it was all gibberish. "Oh, Yuuichirou, come home soon…I hope you can manage to make some sense out of this!"  
  
--  
  
"Plague!" Netto gasped, "There you are-!"   
  


"Netto, what's going on?" Plague exclaimed.  
  


Blinking, the brunette replied, "I was going to ask you the same thing... there's another one!" Netto lunged at a shadow slithering across the floor. He punched it mercilessly until it finally disappeared. "These things... they just started coming out of nowhere! _Aagh!_" Another one appeared and lashed out, wrapping around Netto's wrist. With a growl, Plague lunged forward and slashed at the thing with its claws. It faded instantly.  
  


"What direction are they coming from?" Plague questioned.  
  


"Over there." Netto pointed.   
  


Plague nodded. "We need to investigate it." He dashed in that direction. Minutes passed, and he could hear Netto tirelessly chasing him. Finally, Plague stopped when he came to a pinpoint of light. After watching it closely, he found that it was - though extremely slowly - getting bigger.  
  


"I think..." mused Plague, "Someone is trying to get in."

"Well, great!" Netto exclaimed, staring at the pinpoint. "Can you stop it?" For once, Plague's nature might come in handy. He was perfectly equipped to deal with anything violent. Plague grinned slowly, extending his black, needle like claws.  
  


"I can only try. Hmm... here..." Netto tried to pull away as Plague grabbed one of his hands. "Stop that, boy. I don't want to get pulled through."  
  


"Oh. Alright." Netto gingerly gripped Plague's hand, trying to ignore the cold, hard metal. Or was it skin? With Plague, it was hard to say.  
  


Plague slowly reached, then quickly lashed out, at that speck of light...

The light grew brighter. Plague and Netto both reeled, unable to stop the oncoming force that was pulling them through the opening...  
  
Plague opened his eyes and glanced around. They were no longer in the dark void. In fact, this place looked... familiar...  
  


"Eughhh.." Netto groaned. "Where are we?"  
  


"Oh my..." Plague mused, "Netto, you're in big trouble."  
  


Blinking, Netto demanded, "Me? Why am I in trouble and not you?"  
  


"Because the net is my home, but not yous."  
  


"The net?" Netto scoffed, "What does that have to do... with... anything..."   
  


The truth hit him like a bulllet to the head. _"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  
  
_

"Yes, not very good for you... but for me... " He had regained his ability to cause destruction. He could finally fulfill his purpose. He could destroy!  
_...and then what? Is there really any point to destruction?_ Plague was shocked at himself. He was questioning his own programming... what was going on? But it was true. If the net were destroyed, what would be left? And where would destruction get him at all, besides deleted?  
  


"Netto, what's your email?" Plague asked suddenly.  
  


Surprised, Netto looked up. "Why do you need to know that?"  
  


"You want to see your family again, don't you?"  
  


"I... yeah, but... "  
  


Plague nodded. "And I want to let them know I... I'm all right." _If they care. _"I have an idea."  
  
-----------  
  
"He just collapsed!" Haruka cried. "Oh, Yuuichirou - his temperature was so high, I... I don't know what to do... he mentioned hearing some sort of code... he tried to write it down, this is what he got from it." She handed him the paper.  
  


Yuichirou read over it. Realizing what it was, he lifted an eyebrow. _Someone was trying to hack into Plague?  
  
_

Rockman looked up from the PET. "Doctor Hikari, there's an email for Netto labeled 'urgent'. The file size is humongous."  
  


"I wouldn't risk opening it, then... who is it from?"  
  


"I'm not sure," confessed Rockman, "I can't trace it."  
  


"Hm... can you tell me the filename of the attachment?"  
  


"There's two attachments... both executable files..." Rockman murmured. He let out a gasp. "Doctor Hilkari, they're labeled 'Plague.EXE' and 'Netto.EXE'."  
Yuuichirou's eyes widened. "Rockman, download and open those files. _Now."  
  
_

"Are you sure that's-?"  
  


"For the love of God, Rockman! _Open the files!"_

The e-mails quickly opened, as Rockman accessed them. The programs asked to be run... Rockman gave his permission, and then...  
  


"Rockman!" Netto was disoriented, but quickly recovered, beaming.  
  


Plague, meanwhile, glanced around. Rockman was seeing him, the first time, in his true form... his black and red armor was beautiful and deadly, and his movements were quick, predatory. He radiated a deadly grace... although he was the same size as Rockman. 

Suddenly, a perfect double of Rockman appeared.  
  


"Rock, what's- HOLY HELL! My virgin optics!" Rockman's twin had gotten a far too intimate view of Netto, who had briefly forgotten his lack of clothes.

A distinct shade of red covered Netto's face as he curled up into a ball, determined to hide himself. "I can't believe this..." he mumbled.  
  


"Neither can I..." Choked Rockman, trying to hide his excitment. Netto was _here..._ in the _net!_ Within his grasp! Shakily, he reached out a hand and placed it on Netto's shoulder.   
The brunette looked up. "Something wrong?"  
  


"It's just... Netto-kun, you're _here! _Not on the other side of a screen, you're with me... Oh man, I don't even know how to say this..!" With that, he pounced on his brother, knocking him to the floor.  
  


"Whoah- Hey hey hey! Rock, this looks _really_ wrong! Rock?"  
  


"S-Sorry!" Rockman gasped, "It's just... I never thought-!"  
  


"It's okay!" Comforted Netto, curling into a ball again, "It's just... I'd like some clothes first... _then_ we can act like brothers."  
  


"Well, it's nice to know my son isn't a nudist."  
  


Netto stared up at the screen. "Papa!" He exclaimed.

Plague's laugh cut through the air, making everyone wince. "Why is everyone making such a fuss over that?"  
  


"Because wearing clothes is the usual thing." Rock's twin squinted at Plague. "And aren't you the guy who freaked when they showed you how to go to the bathroom?" Plague answered that with a rattling snarl. It was very true, though... some aspects of humanity had been very difficult to get used to.  
  


Clothes suddenly appeared on Netto. Well, it was more like close fitting armor... a fairly decent facsimile. "Thanks, dad!" Netto beamed... then yelped as Rockman hugged him again, and hugged him back, laughing.  
  


"Aw, that's cute." Rock's double smiled, then sighed. Plague just watched, black eyes blank.

"Wow, wait till everyone sees me like this!" Netto exclaimed happily. "Man, Dekao will be jealous that I can see the Net from the inside! And I can actually _meet_ Rockman!" He squeezed his brother tighter. "And nobody will believe this! Man, when I get out..." his voice traled off and he looked up at the screen. "Papa... I _can_ get out of here... can't I?"  
Yuuichirou's expression fell. "Netto... I really don't know. I'll try what I can, but there's no guarantee..."  
  


"I understand..." Netto murmured.  
  


"Anyway, it's getting late - why don't you all get to sleep?" Yuuichirou suggested. "And make sure to keep an eye on Plague."  
  


Plague frowned. "What do you think I'll do?"  
  


"Well, you _are_ a virus, aren't you?"  
  


"...I really don't know anymore..." he murmured.  
  


Yuuichirou was a bit taken back by the comment. "Well... just be careful, then. I'm going to get some sleep; tomorrow, we can sort things out."  
  


"'Night, Papa!"  
  


"G'night, Netto."  
  


"Good night, Netto." Haruka added cheerfully.  
  


As Yuuichirou switched the computer off, Haruka burst into tears.  
  


"Yuuichirou..." she sobbed, burying her face into his shoulder, "We're going to lose _another_ son to the Net, aren't we?"


End file.
